More arrests possible in Nederland-area campsite slaying

Stabbing suspect Spencer Crawford charged with second-degree murder

By Mitchell Byars and Joe Rubino, Camera Staff Writers

Posted:
06/25/2013 02:30:11 PM MDT

Spencer Crawford

A 17-year-old Boulder County resident has been identified in court documents as having provided LSD to both the murder suspect and victim before last week's fatal stabbing at a campsite near Nederland.

The teen, whom the Camera is not naming because he is a juvenile and has not been arrested, offered Boulder residents Spencer Crawford, 19, and Angus Gaudin, 17, the drug about four and a half hours before Crawford stabbed and killed Gaudin, according to a Boulder County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit.

He also dispensed the liquid LSD directly onto Crawford's and Gaudin's tongues, according to statements Crawford made to investigators.

Boulder County officials have declined to say if the teen accused of supplying the drug will be charged in the case.

"We continue to review the investigative reports and, in collaboration with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, we will make whatever determinations are appropriate as to whether there will be additional arrests in this case," prosecutor Ryan Brackley said.

When reached at his home, the teen declined to comment on his involvement in the case, saying, "Everything that can be found out, you already know."

Crawford was formally charged with second-degree murder Tuesday.

He appeared in custody at the Boulder County Jail's courtroom. Dozens of supporters packed the facility's tiny viewing room during the hearing.

Crawford is accused of killing Gaudin on June 19 while the two were camping with friends in the 5200 block of Ridge Road just outside Nederland.

According to court documents, deputies were called to the campsite at about 3 a.m. on a report of a stabbing. There, they discovered a group of 11 people who were friends from New Vista High School who had camped in the area overnight.

Gaudin was found by deputies with a stab wound to his chest and was pronounced dead at the scene. Two people kneeling over him told the deputies Crawford had stabbed him.

Crawford was found naked nearby, and deputies "believed he was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol due to his erratic behavior and statements," according to court documents. Deputies said Crawford said he was "seeing the light" and "loved music," and that he had "killed somebody" and that someone needed to "kill him."

According to the documents, Crawford told paramedics he and Gaudin had taken LSD, mushrooms and "moonshine." The arrest affidavit released by the Sheriff's Office indicated that Crawford felt he had been given too much LSD because he became very uneasy after ingesting it and "started to freak out."

According to an arrest report, Crawford said that after they had taken the drugs, Gaudin asked him to hide a machete from him because Gaudin said he did not trust himself and did not want to hurt anyone.

Crawford told deputies he hid the machete in a tree about a half-mile from the campsite before returning but that he continued to obsess over why Gaudin would ask him to hide the machete and wanted to talk to him about it. He told deputies that he "jumped the gun," and pulled a knife out of a sheath on his belt and stabbed Gaudin.

According to the report, Crawford repeatedly took responsibility for the stabbing and said the victim did nothing.

Nowhere in the report do any other witnesses refer to a machete, and the report does not mention investigators finding a machete.

Crawford is a clerk at Lucky's in north Boulder and graduated from New Vista in 2012. Gaudin was a student at New Vista before he transferred to a private school in 2012.

Crawford remains in custody on $1 million bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Aug. 15.

Kathryn Herold, his attorney, indicated she plans to file a motion to appeal Crawford's bond. A hearing was scheduled on that matter for July 9.

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